Arrowroot - Ingredient Highlight

Arrowroot Powder

Are there any Jane Austen fans out there? Well if you are and have read the book or have seen the movie Emma. You will recognize today’s topic as the gift of vastly superior quality sent to Jane Fairfax from Emma when she was "ill”. In the West Indies, Arrowroot was used to treat wounds caused by poisoned arrows. So… was Emma in fact sending Jane a medicinal gift for a wounded heart? We will let you figure that one out for yourself. For now, let us dig into the variety of uses and benefits of Arrowroot Powder.

Arrowroot is a starch derived from the West Indian Arrowroot plant. There are several additional variations of the species grown in different locations. As mentioned above, Arrowroot was used in healing wounds caused by poison arrows. A salve made from arrowroot was applied to the wound site to draw the poison out.

In Saint Vincent, the production of Arrowroot started as a food and medicine source for the Carib and Garifuna people. Then it became a popular trade commodity. In 1998-1999, the industry produced 312,000 pounds of arrowroot STARCH, not Rhizomes, just the starch. In the past about 50% of the country’s foreign export earnings was from arrowroot starch.

Use Arrowroot powder for baking, frying and roasting to get things extra crispy. It has a very bland taste. Arrowroot Powder is a gluten free alternative for thickening puddings, sauces and soups. It is also easy to digest making it suitable for most everyone to use. Use it to make ice cream smooth (t interrupts the formation of ice crystals) and is not altered when freezing.

Arrowroot powder is absorbent which makes it a perfect addition to our All-natural Baking Soda Free and Aluminum Free Deodorants as well as our Foot Powder. It also has the feeling of silk, so soft and smooth. For this reason, we use it in our All Natural Powdered Sunscreen and Herbal Baby Powder.

As a little extra beauty tip - you can use a little arrowroot powder on your T- Zone area (or all over your face if you are get too shiny EVERYWHERE) and then continue with the rest of your routine. The arrowroot powder will help to control the excess oil and help control some of the extra shininess. I know we all like a natural dewy glow but sometimes it can get a bit too dewy.